Unfair to the library patron

crich70 · 04-11-2017, 09:19 PM

I had something happen that has me irritated. I have a few books on hold via my local library and one of them now has a 0 of 0 copies with a (?) next to it which when I click on it shows the message:

Quote:

The license for this title has expired, so your hold isn't moving forward. Your hold will start moving if the library purchases the title again.

I haven't seen any message about holds being suspended in this way before. No mention on the website, nothing. It irks me. I mean I know physical books get lost or damaged and are withdrawn as a result but I'd have thought that ebooks were different. I could buy a copy, but the price at Amazon is $16.00. Some new copies in paper cost $26.00 or more and even used paper is about the same as the ebook. If I am going to spend a large sum on one book I would like to know that I will at least enjoy it first. Which is why borrowing the book from the Library is so appealing.

AnemicOak · 04-11-2017, 09:26 PM

I've had that on some of my holds in the past. Since some publishers licenses for library books are time limited/limited checkouts they can get to a state of 0 of 0 copies until/unless the library rebuys the book.

For reference HarperCollins limits books to 26 loans, Macmillan to 52 loans or 2 years (whichever comes first), Simon & Schuster for 1 year (experimenting with 2 years for 1.5x the $$$).

Bookworm_Girl · 04-11-2017, 09:56 PM

I've had this happen too, and it is very frustrating. It seems that recently I also have come across several cases of books appearing on my library website as 0 of 0 rather than flipping back to not available and being recommendable. It's happened frequently enough that I wondered if Overdrive had made changes to their software and perhaps in the past they would have been filtered out.

4691mls · 04-12-2017, 10:25 AM

The same thing just happened with one of my books on hold. I figured I just had the bad timing to put it on hold shortly before the library's license for it expired.

More annoying to me, I recently put a hold on a new book (recently published, it came up on my search of newly added books). At the time I placed the hold, there were two or three people ahead of me.

A few days ago when I went to review my holds this book no longer had any information in the space where it usually shows how many people are in line. Instead, there was a place to click "recommend" as if the library does not own it.

Also, last night when I went to look at my wishlist, when I clicked on "available" the first page of results showed available books but the next couple of pages showed both available and wait list books. I gave up and didn't go any farther at that point. Haven't checked yet today to see if this has been fixed.

Followup: the wishlist problem was fixed by signing out, clearing browser history, and signing in again.

4691mls · 04-14-2017, 12:37 AM

The book I had on hold which then became "0 of 0" due to license expired, is now back at "you are 1 of 1" so I guess the library must have bought a new license. Chrich, hopefully your library will be as quick!

The new book which I had on hold, and then it became a "recommend" book - I just did a library search for it and it's back and available for holds. I put it on hold again and hope it goes forward this time! The hold numbering continues to mystify me. This same book says "#4 on 1 copy" but if I click on the ? symbol, it says "you are next in line"

Catlady · 04-14-2017, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4691mls

More annoying to me, I recently put a hold on a new book (recently published, it came up on my search of newly added books). At the time I placed the hold, there were two or three people ahead of me.

A few days ago when I went to review my holds this book no longer had any information in the space where it usually shows how many people are in line. Instead, there was a place to click "recommend" as if the library does not own it.

Something similar happened to me with a pre-release title I had on hold recently--I was number one. First the availability date was pushed back a week, then it showed up as 0 of 0 copies available, then it disappeared entirely from the Overdrive catalog.

davem2bits · 04-14-2017, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

Something similar happened to me with a pre-release title I had on hold recently--I was number one. First the availability date was pushed back a week, then it showed up as 0 of 0 copies available, then it disappeared entirely from the Overdrive catalog.

Was it Earthly Remains by Donna Leon? If not, that's another ebook that disappeared from Overdrive shortly after the DTB was released. Not sure why the publisher is doing that. I thought they were over their library ebook paranoia.

crich70 · 04-14-2017, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davem2bits

Was it Earthly Remains by Donna Leon? If not, that's another ebook that disappeared from Overdrive shortly after the DTB was released. Not sure why the publisher is doing that. I thought they were over their library ebook paranoia.

Mine was "By reason of Insanity" by Shane Stevens.

AnemicOak · 04-14-2017, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crich70

Mine was "By reason of Insanity" by Shane Stevens.

That book is still listed in the OverDrive catalog, it didn't disappear like the book davem2bits mentioned.

The Stevens book is from Simon & Schuster which means once a library acquires it for their catalog they can loan it out for one year. Once that year is up then they must buy it again to continue lending it. It will still show in their catalog for a time and can be put on hold (which will notify the library folks it needs repurchasing IIRC) and AFAIK won't be removed unless someone at the library specifically takes action.

crich70 · 04-14-2017, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

That book is still listed in the OverDrive catalog, it didn't disappear like the book davem2bits mentioned.

The Stevens book is from Simon & Schuster which means once a library acquires it for their catalog they can loan it out for one year. Once that year is up then they must buy it again to continue lending it. It will still show in their catalog for a time and can be put on hold (which will notify the library folks it needs repurchasing IIRC) and AFAIK won't be removed unless someone at the library specifically takes action.

Catlady · 04-15-2017, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davem2bits

Was it Earthly Remains by Donna Leon? If not, that's another ebook that disappeared from Overdrive shortly after the DTB was released. Not sure why the publisher is doing that. I thought they were over their library ebook paranoia.

No, it was The Trophy Child, by Paula Daly. I think Overdrive had included both the ebook and the audiobook, but now neither is in the catalog. Both are available through Hoopla, though.

FYI, I see Hoopla has the ebook of Earthly Remains.

crich70 · 04-15-2017, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

No, it was The Trophy Child, by Paula Daly. I think Overdrive had included both the ebook and the audiobook, but now neither is in the catalog. Both are available through Hoopla, though.

FYI, I see Hoopla has the ebook of Earthly Remains.

What's Hoopla?

CWatkinsNash · 04-15-2017, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crich70

What's Hoopla?

It's a service that some libraries subscribe to and offer to their patrons. It has ebooks, music, movies, etc. Depending on the library's arrangement, you can borrow a certain number of items per month. In most cases it's offered as a sort of supplemental service to the library's main catalog.

https://www.hoopladigital.com

davem2bits · 04-17-2017, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

No, it was The Trophy Child, by Paula Daly. I think Overdrive had included both the ebook and the audiobook, but now neither is in the catalog. Both are available through Hoopla, though.

FYI, I see Hoopla has the ebook of Earthly Remains.

Catlady, thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, none of my libraries do ebooks with Hoopla.

Froide · 04-20-2017, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davem2bits

Was it Earthly Remains by Donna Leon? If not, that's another ebook that disappeared from Overdrive shortly after the DTB was released. Not sure why the publisher is doing that. I thought they were over their library ebook paranoia.

Happened to me, with Earthly Remains by Donna Leon.

04-11-2017, 09:26 PM	#2
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	I've had that on some of my holds in the past. Since some publishers licenses for library books are time limited/limited checkouts they can get to a state of 0 of 0 copies until/unless the library rebuys the book. For reference HarperCollins limits books to 26 loans, Macmillan to 52 loans or 2 years (whichever comes first), Simon & Schuster for 1 year (experimenting with 2 years for 1.5x the $$$). Last edited by AnemicOak; 04-11-2017 at 09:28 PM.

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04-11-2017, 09:56 PM	#3
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,873 Karma: 36536965 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	I've had this happen too, and it is very frustrating. It seems that recently I also have come across several cases of books appearing on my library website as 0 of 0 rather than flipping back to not available and being recommendable. It's happened frequently enough that I wondered if Overdrive had made changes to their software and perhaps in the past they would have been filtered out.

04-12-2017, 10:25 AM	#4
4691mls Wizard Posts: 2,776 Karma: 30081762 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: US Device: ALL DEVICES ARE STOCK: Kobo Clara, Tolino Shine 2, Sony PRS-T3, T1	The same thing just happened with one of my books on hold. I figured I just had the bad timing to put it on hold shortly before the library's license for it expired. More annoying to me, I recently put a hold on a new book (recently published, it came up on my search of newly added books). At the time I placed the hold, there were two or three people ahead of me. A few days ago when I went to review my holds this book no longer had any information in the space where it usually shows how many people are in line. Instead, there was a place to click "recommend" as if the library does not own it. Also, last night when I went to look at my wishlist, when I clicked on "available" the first page of results showed available books but the next couple of pages showed both available and wait list books. I gave up and didn't go any farther at that point. Haven't checked yet today to see if this has been fixed. Followup: the wishlist problem was fixed by signing out, clearing browser history, and signing in again. Last edited by 4691mls; 04-12-2017 at 07:33 PM. Reason: new information

04-14-2017, 12:37 AM	#5
4691mls Wizard Posts: 2,776 Karma: 30081762 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: US Device: ALL DEVICES ARE STOCK: Kobo Clara, Tolino Shine 2, Sony PRS-T3, T1	The book I had on hold which then became "0 of 0" due to license expired, is now back at "you are 1 of 1" so I guess the library must have bought a new license. Chrich, hopefully your library will be as quick! The new book which I had on hold, and then it became a "recommend" book - I just did a library search for it and it's back and available for holds. I put it on hold again and hope it goes forward this time! The hold numbering continues to mystify me. This same book says "#4 on 1 copy" but if I click on the ? symbol, it says "you are next in line"

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